Harvest Seeds of Light
We’ve been growing sunflowers in our garden. There was one that grew above the garden wall. The face of the flower was bigger than a dinner plate. We’ve watched the petals emerge, grow, the flower turning to the sun. And we’ve been watching the flower bow her head as her time of blossoming comes to an end.
“Now what?” I asked Dan, my husband.
He told me that we wait until her head is bowed completely and then we harvest the seeds.
Isn’t this what I’m asked to do everyday? Bow my head completely to harvest the seeds?
Yesterday I did something I’ve never in my life done. Oh, I’ve always enjoyed sunflower seeds— but I purchased them. I used allowance money to buy a bag at my middle school snack bar during summer baseball games. I recalled popping whole seeds in my mouth and spitting out the shells. Finding what was delicious and expelling the rest. Pure fun for an 11 year old! Of course, bored watching a slow baseball game, we’d start spitting competitions.
What if I let myself now have a spitting moment, releasing shells, negativity, anything that tasted awful in my mouth? It could be fun!
Yesterday, there I was looking at a sunflower from our garden marveling at all of the seeds stored in the face. Bigger than a dinner plate. So many! Could I feast on this delight?
Of course. I dug my fingers in to pluck one out and I got poked! Dan got poked! Several times. Both of us.
“Ah,” I thought, “It’s work to harvest what is good.” Sometimes it requires some pain and work to get to the seed of goodness and delight. Often.
Today I ask myself to work through disappointment and loss to seek the goodness, the light within, that is always, always there. To walk gently. With kindness.
This, I believe, is how I start again. Again and again. I believe that to sing the song that is in my heart is a journey, a sigh, a cry, a sing a little, skip a little, song of joy.
And it’s worth it.
To hear MissyAnn’s song “To Sing the Song That’s In My Heart,” please click here.
May Peace be with you,
Kathleen
